Apparatus for feeding blanks of cardboard or analogous sheet material to machinery for operating on the blanks so fed



April 9, 1968 K Filed June 14, 1966 R. T. KIRBY 3,377,063 APPARATUS FOR FEEDING BLANKS OF CARDBOARD OR ANALOGOUS SHEET MATERIAL TO MACHINERY FOR OPERATING ON THE BLANKS SO FED 7 Sheets-Sheet 1 April 9, 1968 K. R. T. KIRBY FEEDING BLANKS OF CARDBOARD APPARATUS FOR ANALOGOUS SHEET MATERIAL TO MACHINERY FOR OPERATING ON THE BLANKS SO FED '7 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 14, 1966 FIGZ.

K. R. T. KIRBY 3,377,063 FEEDING BLANKS OF CARDBOARD OR ANALOGOUS SHEET MATERIAL TO MACHINERY FOR OPERATING ON THE BLANKS SO FED A ril 9, 1968 APPARATUS FOR 7 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed June 14, 1966 Apnl 9, 1968 K. R. T. KIRBY 3,377,063

APPARATUS FOR FEEDING BLANKS OF CARDBOARD OR ANALOGOUS SHEET MATERIAL TO MACHINERY FOR OPERATING ON THE BLANKS SO'FED Filed June 14, 1966 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 K. R. T. KIRBY A ril 9, 1968 APPARATUS FOR FEEDING BLANKS OF CARDBOARD OR ANALOGOUS SHEET MATERIAL TO MACHINERY FOR OPERATING ON THE BLANKS SO FED 7 Sheets-Sheet 5) Filed June 14, 1966 April 1968 K. R. T. KIRBY 3,377,063

Filed June 14, 1966 APPARATUS FOR FEEDING BLANKS OF CARDBOARD OR ANALOGOUS SHEET MATERIAL TO MACHINERY FOR OPERATING ON THE BLANKS SO FED 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 Apnl 9, 1968 K. R. T. KIRBY 3,377,063 APPARATUS FOR FEEDING BLANKS OF CARDBOARD OR O ANALOGOUS SHEET MATERIAL TO MACHINERY FOR OPERATING ON THE BLANKS SO FED Filed June 14, 1966 '7 Sheets-Sheet '7 FIG] United WPWM ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This inventionhas reference'to apparatus forfeeding blanks of cardboard or analogous sheet material to machiueryfor operating on-the blanks so fed, incorporatinglone or' more longitudinally arranged feed members which are reciprocably mounted in the bed of the apparatus on which the stacks of cardboard or-analogous sheet material to be fed are placed preparatory to being fed to the machinery for performing the'subsequent op eration or operations, a chamber which may be put into communication with the space or spaces below the bottom of the stack when the stack of blanks to befed is placed on the feed members, means for maintaining sub atmospheric "pressurewithin said chamber and valve means for controlling the opening and closing of the communication opening or openings between the said space or spaces and the'sub-atmospheric chambe'r'as required.

The invention also resides in' associating with the" reciprocatory feed members spaced transverse upstanding portions so that the lowermost portions of the sheet to be fed tend to droop within upstanding transverse portions to ensure a positive'feeding.

The invention further resides in apparatus for feeding blanks of cardboard or analogous sheet material to machinery for performing subsequent operations 'on the fed blanks constructed, arranged and adapted for use substantially as will be'clescribe'd hereinafter.

BACKGROUND apparatus in which thelowermost sheet of a stack f blanks is fed' through the agency .of suction means into the-spaces" between 'adj'acent the nip of rolls for conveyance to the machinery on which the subsequent'ope'rations are to be performed.

OBJECTIVE" The present invention has forits object to provide' apparatus operating through the-agency of suction which it is considered is simpler in construction and manner of operation and more economical to produce than suction for-the present application is claimed as -of the said date.

DESCRIPTION In'the drawingsi FIGURE 1 is a perspective view from above of part of the feeding apparatus,

FIGURE 4 is a view generally similar to FIGURE B but showing the parts in the positions occupied as a feeding Qperanon' roceeds, I I

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary view on an enlarged scale showing the'succeeding stagesof a feeding operation,

FIGURE 5A is a feeding operation as depicted in FIGURE 5,

FIGURE 6 is an elevation looking from the front of the apparatus as illustrated in FIGURES 1 to 5 with parts broken away where desirable for the sake of clearness,

FIGURE 7 is a cross section taken on the plane indicated by the line '7-7 in FIGURE 3 looking in the direction of the arrows to the said line, and I FIGURE 8 'is' a fragmentary view illustrative of auxiliary means for inducing suction on the underside of the forepart of a sheet being fed. I I

In the drawings like numerals of reference'indicate similar parts in the'several views. I I I According to the illustrative embodiment of the in-' vefition there'is disposed in advance of the feed rolls 101, 102 for feeding blanks into the trip of the rotary cutting and/or creasing rolls 103,104 ting and/or creasing apparatus a bed 11 the upper surface of which is located in a horizontal plane. This bed 11 is provided with four parallel longitudinal slideways 111, 112, 113, 114 of which only the inner two 112, 113 are required for use in conjunction with the feeding of sheets *of cardboard of the size depicted in the figures.

Disposed within each slideway 111, 112, 113, 114 is a channel section member 12 hereinafter termed feed tuberant portions 131 which are proud of the plane of the feed bed 11. The spaces 12a' intermediate the bridging members 13 are adapted to be filled by removable filler blocks 14 which are shallowerthan the protuberant portions 131 of the bridging members 13.

The bed 11 is provided at the rear with the customary upstanding adjustable abutment bar 15 for locating'the rear end of the stack 16 I boards to 'befed. The front edges of the stack 16 of boards abut adjustable feed gates 17 and the corners of the stack 16 are stabilised by adjustable vertical angle section members 161. The feed members 12 are adapted for I reciprocation through the agency of links 18 and rockers 19 mounted on a transverse rock shaft 20 adapted to be driven by an electric motor 21 through chain gearing 22 an d pinions 23 the rock shaft 20 and hence the rockers 19 being actuated through the agency of eccentrics '191 and"rock'er arms'192' driven from a stub shaft 201 I terfiy valve242a'for determining the amount of suction tobe induced by the fan 243';

The bottoms of the connecting limbs of the feed mem- Patented Apr. 9, 1968* fragmentary view illustrative ofthe of known rotary cutof blanks hereinafter termed a at the rear is a 3 bers 12 are cut away as at 121 see FIGURES 3 and 4 so that during reciprocation the solid bottoms 122 of the feed members 12 serve as slide valves as and for a purpose to be set forth hereinafter.

At the front of the feed members 12 are bridging members 13a provided with permanently open elongated transverse slots 132 which are permanently open to the hollow interiors of the feed members 12 for permitting suction to be maintained on the underside of the forepart of the lowermost board of a stack 16.

The chamber 24 also has communication by Way of a longitudinal length of hose 244 with a vertical hollow member 25 hereinafter termed the auxiliary duct 25 the mouth of which opens into the bed 11 in front of the adjustable feed gates 17 for pulling the front of the board below the gates 17 as will be referred to hereinafter.

Disposed within the mouth of the auxiliary duct 25 are four freely rotatable wheels 251 the peripheries of which are tangential to the plane of the feed bed 11.

Disposed within the lower portion of the auxiliary duct 25 is a plate valve 26 which can be operated by means of a rod 261 to adjust the degree of vacuum induced in the auxiliary chamber 25.

In use the stack of boards 16 to be fed to the rotary cutting and/or creasing rolls 103 and 104 is stacked on top of the feed bed 11 with the rear edges of the boards of the stack in abutment with the adjustable abutment bar 15 and the front edges of the boards in the stack 16 in abutment with the adjustable gates 17 and the corners embraced by the corner guards 161.

The adjustable gates 17 are set so that there is a gap 17A between the knife-edged bottom of the gates 17 and the surface of the bed 11 very slightly in excess of the thickness of the boards in the stack 16. Before the boards are loaded onto the bed 11 filler blocks 14 may be removed from the spaces 12a between adjacent bridging members 13 according to the nature of the boards in the stack 16.

At the commencement of feed the feed members 12 occupy the rearmost position with the gaps 121 in the connecting limbs 122 in full register with the chamber 24 see FIGURE 3. The feed is initiated by starting the motor 24a to induce a vacuum in the chamber 24 and hence exerting a suction influence which is exerted on the underside of the lowermost board in the stack 16 through the gaps 12a between the upstanding portions 131 of the bridging member 13 bounding the spaces urrcovered by the removal of filler blocks 14.

The influence of the suction causes the bottom board of the stack 16 to droop into the space between the adjacent upstanding portions 131 as clearly seen in FIG- URE A.

The elongated openings 132 at the front of the feed members 12 cause a permanent suction effect to be exerted of the underside of the forepart of the lowermost board so that forepart of the said lowermost board is drawn into contact with the feed members 12. On starting the motor 21 reciprocation of the feed members 12 occasioned through the linkage end gearing aforesaid causes the feed members 12 initially to move forwardly and thereby feed the lower board of the stack 16 through the gap 17A between the bottom edges of the adjustable feed gates 17 and the bed 11 into the nip of the feed rolls 101, 102 which in turn progress the said board into the nip of the rotary creasing and/or cutting rolls 103, 104.

During the foregoing feed movement the suction exerted through the mouth of the auxiliary duct 25 causes the board in its progress to be drawn over the peripheries of the wheels 251 whereby the movement of the board into and through the nip of the feed rolls 101 and 102 is facilitated.

The degree of suction to be exerted in the auxiliary duct 25 is determined by adjustment of the plate valve 26.

As the feed members 12 approach the limit of their forward movement the cut-away portions 121 move out of register with the mouth of the chamber 24 so that the suction is cut off.

On the return stroke of the feed members 12 the cutaway portions 121 again move into fuller register with the mouth of the chamber 24 so that on the return of the feed members 12 the then bottom board is drawn into abutment with the adjustable abutment bar 15.

The feeding operation then proceeds repetitively until the stack 16 is exhausted or the apparatus is stopped at the will of the operator.

It is to be understood that by the provision of a plurality of removable filler blocks 14 the effective area of opening in the feed members 12 to be covered by the lowermost board in a stack 16 may be adjusted to suit particular working requirements.

It is found that feed apparatus in accordance with the invention is especially suited for use where the boards or blanks of sheet material are warped.

It is considered that cardboard or sheet feeding apparatus in accordance with the invention is simple in construction and operation and more economical to install in cardboard or analogous sheet Working machinery than apparatus operating on the suction principle heretofore in use.

It will be understood also that the invention may be applied to the feeding of sheets of material other than cardboard, for example, synthetic plastics material.

It will be understood moreover, that if preferred a single longitudinal feed member 12 of adequate width may be used or more than two parallel feed members 12 brought into use as circumstances may require.

In addition it is to be understood that although the invention has been described as applied to rotary cutting and/ or creasing apparatus the invention may be employed with other machinery for operating on sheet material, for example, printer, slotter, cutter/creasers and with other machinery for operating on sheet material in which rolls 101, 102 are dispensed with and the boards fed directly into the operating machinery, as for example, rotary partition slotting machinery.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for feeding blanks of cardboard or analogous sheet material to machinery for operating on the fed blanks incorporating a bed the surface of which is located in a horizontal plane, at least one longitudinally arranged channel, feed members reciprocably mounted in the channel having open tops, a plurality of spaced bridging members for bridging transversely the open tops of the channels said bridging members being provided with protuberant portions proud of the plane of the bed, a vacuum chamber below the bed, means for inducing a vacuum in said chamber, means for placing the vacuum chamber in communication with all spaces between said bridging members, valve means for determining the degree of suction to be exerted at any one time in the spaces between said bridging means, means for locating a stack of blanks to be fed on the said feed members, adjustable gate means abutting the front face of the stack, said gates being adapted for adjustment so as to be capable of being set above the surface of the bed at a thickness very slightly in excess of the thickness of the lowermost blank in the stack of blanks to be fed, and filler members for filling spaces between adjacent protuberant feed members for determining the degree of suction to be exerted on the underside of the lowermost blank of a stack to be fed and power operated means for imparting a reciprocatory movement to the feed members as required.

2. Apparatus for feeding blanks of card-board or analogous sheet material to machinery for operating on the fed blanks incorporating a bed the surface of which is located in a horizontal plane, at least one longitudinally arranged slideway in said bed, open topped feed members reciprocably mounted in each slideway, a plurality of spaced bridging members for bridging transversely the open tops of each feed member said bridging members being provided with protuberant portions proud of the plane of the bed, cut-away portions in the bottom of each feed member, a vacuum chamber below the bed, means for inducing a vacuum in said chamber, means for placing the vacuum chamber in communication with all spaces between said bridging members, slots in each feed member which cooperate with the outlet from said chamber in the manner of .a slide valve for determining the degree of suction to be exerted at any one time in the spaces between said bridging members, means for locating a stack of blanks to be fed on the feed members, an adjustable abutment bar for the rear edges of the stack when so positioned, adjustable gate means for determining the positioning of the front edges of the said stack when positioned as aforesaid said ajustable gate means being adapted for adjustment so as to be capable of being set above the surface of the bed at a height above the bed very slightly in excess of the thickness of the lowermost blank in the stack of blanks to be fed, and filler members which are shallower than the protuberant portions of the bridging members for filling spaces between adjacent bridging members for determining the degree of suction to be exerted on the underside of the lowermost blank of a stack to be fed and power operated means for imparting a reciprocatory movement to the feed members as required.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2 in which provision is made for exerting a permanent suction on the underside of the lowermost blank during feeding.

4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2 in which auxiliary means is provided for exerting an additional suction effect on the underside of the fore portion of a blank as it is fed through the gap between the adjustable feed gates.

5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2 in which the said auxiliary means incorporates a vacuum chamber having in the mouth thereof freely rotatable members for assisting in guiding a fed blank below the gap of the adjustable gate means.

6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2 in which provision is made for exerting an additional suction effect on the underside of the lowermost blank during feeding, valve means is provided for controlling the degree of suction to be exerted.

7. Apparatus for feeding blanks of cardboard or analogous sheet material to machinery for operating on the fed blanks incorporating in combination a bed the surface of which is located in a horizontal plane, at least one longitudinally arranged slideway in said bed, open topped feed members reciprocably mounted in each slideway, a plurality of spaced bridging members for bridging transversely the open tops of each feed member said bridging members being provided with protuberant portions proud of the plane of the bed, cut-away portions in the bottom of each feed member, a vacuum chamber below the bed, means for inducing a vacuum in said chamber, means for placing the vacuum chamber in communication with all spaces between said bridging members, slots in each feed member which co-operate with the outlet from said chamber in the manner of determining the degree of suction to be exerted at any one time in the spaces between said bridging members, means for locating a stack of blanks to be fed on the feed members, an adjustable abutment bar for the rear edges of the stack when so positioned, adjustable gate means for determining the positioning of the front edges of the said stack when positioned as aforesaid, said adjustable gate means being adapted for adjustment so as to be capable of being set above the surface of the bed at a height above the bed very slightly in excess of the thickness of the lowermost blank in the stack of blanks to be fed, and filler members which are shallower than the protuberant portions of the bridging members for filling spaces between adjacent bridging members for determining the degree of suction to be exerted on the underside of the lowermost blank of a stack to be fed, means for exerting a permanent suction on the underside of the lowermost blank during feeding, auxiliary means for exerting an additional suction effect on the underside of the fore portion of a blank as it is fed through the gap between the adjustable gate means and the bed, means for varying the degree of said additional suction effect, power operated means for imparting a reciproca tory movement to the feed members as required.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,877,737 3/1959 Taggart 271--14 3,021,766 2/1962 Mossor 271-14 RICHARD E. AEGERTER, Primary Examiner. 

